Dandruff - how to get rid of it once and for all?

[ZZZenAgain]

dd has had dandruff for about 2 years now and I cannot get rid of it. Unpleasant because of the itchy scalp.

Tried anti-dandruff shampoos off the shelf - no luck, anti-dandruff shampoos and hair water from a health food shop - no different. Ones from the chemist, ones prescribed by the dermatologist. Nothing shifts it.

Aargh I'm sick of it. What helps? Anyone know - I do clean (obviously) and replace brushes/combs, use clean towels etc. Am I missing something?

Older people used to swear by olive oil - rubbed into the scalp overnight and washed off in morning. It did shift my dd dandruff when she was little when all the coal tar soaps etc had not worked. I had bad dandruff when I was 14 and was prescribed Oil of Cade by the Gp and it was fantastic, but later in life chemists seem not to have heard of it. Lush and L'occitane do some cade oil stuff for men but I don't know if it would be too low a concentration.

I also read that the treatment depends on what is causing it as different "effective ingredients" work for diffrent scalps. Is it basically eczema and would benefit from gentle moisturising and no SLF or is it waxy scurf.

The famous anti-dandruff shampoo I had used was awful. It actually made it worse. It worked for a couple of times and then stopped working.

My hairdresser said that most anti dandruff shampoos work by defoliating the scalp so once anti dandruff shampoo had worked, it keeps taking off layers of skin when it doens't need to. Not sure if that's true but she insisted it's true.

I would also try rubbing with olive oil or even Dentinox for cradle cap (works in same way). That was the only thing that helped DCs cradle cap and I imagine dandruff is similar.

Neutrogena products are supposed to take away residue pretty well which is another cause of dandruff.

Check too that your dd doesn't have psoriasis.

Boots do an own brand sensitive scalp shampoo that has worked wonders for me...i get psoriasis like flaky areas on my scalp that result in flakiness and they have gone completely. It is on the same shelf as e45 etc shampoos.

ok thanks. Seems to be waxy scurf on the scalp. Have noticed the anti-dandruff shampoos definitely don't cure it. Not sure about it being psoriasis. She had eczema when she was small but thankfully it finally ended. Would have thought the dermatologist would have picked up on anything like that tbh.

Ok, I'll try the olive oil for a few weeks and see what happens and I will make a note of the other things you've mentioned everyone. Can't get boots here (Czech Republic) I don't think (Dentinox, oil of Cade etc)

Thanks very much

If its waxy scurf the oil will mean you can comb and lift out big flakes of it. good luck

If anti-dandruff shampoos make it worse then try anti-seborrheic cream. (sp?)